Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002.
Many MMA stars have made their names under the Cage Warriors banner, including Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping, Paddy Pimblett, Gegard Mousasi, Antônio Silva, Jeff Monson, Martin Kampmann, Dan Hardy, Joe Duffy, Cathal Pendred, Neil Seery, and Dennis Siver. CW are one of the few top promotions to take their events abroad, travelling throughout countries in Europe, North America and the Middle East.
The promotion is watched globally via a host of television partners such as BT Sport, FreeSports and Viasat, and is one of the featured promotions on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)'s digital streaming service, UFC Fight Pass. It is currently being presented by UFC & BT Sport analyst Dan Hardy, with commentators Josh Palmer and Brad Wharton.
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship (CWFC) was founded by Dougie Truman in 2001; the first event, titled 'Armageddon', took place on July 27, 2002, and saw notable fighters such as Jean Silva, Rosi Sexton, Matt Ewin and Paul Jenkins claim victories.
Irishman Graham Boylan assumed control of Cage Warriors in 2010 and expanded the promotion's reach to mainland Europe and Asia, staging shows in England, Ireland, Russia, Ukraine, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Bahrain. The Cage Warriors head office is located in London.
Following Cage Warriors 74 in November 2014 the promotion went into hiatus, with Boylan announcing his resignation as CEO in February 2015.
However, in June 2015, Boylan announced on The MMA Hour he had acquired the promotion and would be bringing it back to prominence again.
The promotion has since secured a digital broadcasting deal with the UFC to have its shows shown live across the world on UFC Fight Pass, and has also brokered television broadcast deals with major broadcasters across Europe and Asia.
Cage Warriors 114 marked the first time a mixed martial arts event in the United Kingdom was officially approved by the government.